Do you know America has a national Moto, just like major companies and organizations have a motto that establishes brand? It’s much more than a popular saying. It was officially approved by Congress as our national motto. “A law passed by the 84th Congress (P.L. 84-140) and approved by the President on July 30, 1956, the President approved a Joint Resolution of the 84th Congress, declaring IN GOD WE TRUST the national motto of the United States.” (https://www.treasury.gov/about/education/Pages/in-god-we-trust.aspx Accessed July 5, 2012.) That motto,”In God We Trust,” should brand us and influence our thinking, actions and decisions. Does it? Does it influence yours?
James Pollock, Director of the Mint at Philadelphia, was instructed to prepare a motto, in a letter dated November 20, 1861 he said: “No nation can be strong except in the strength of God, or safe except in His defense. The trust of our people in God should be declared on our national coins.” That motto has appeared continuously on a penny since 1909, but it first appeared on a two-cent coin in 1864. Two cent coins are long gone and so has the mental affirmation, “In God We Trust.” And I just gotta add, it doesn’t make good cents or is that sense to trust in anyone or anything other than God. If you want to know my two cents worth on the subject, facing the crisis we’re in, it’s time that we all put our trust in God for his help financially, morally and spiritually! We’re just not strong enough to figure it all out without Him!
We start our independence at a very young age. As soon as a child has just a few words with which to jabber, you‘ll hear it say, ”Me do it!” And that mindset permeates the remainder of its life. We do what we want and we do it our way. Left unchecked, success and accomplishment inflate egos, even of believers, causing a person to feel satisfied and fulfilled with their achievements. In a culture of self reliance, our desperate need for God is not perceived. Even when life taps us on the shoulder with difficulties, we answer every situation with a self-help solution, ?Me do it!? But the real answer, in both difficult and prosperous times, is a confidence rooted in a deep trust in God.
Read the story of two men praying in church. Look at the self portrait of the first prayer. Now look at the second prayer. What does his self portrait look like? Who was commended? Who was reprimanded? It‘s a surprising story? Which one are you most alike; self-reliant or God-reliant? It‘s interesting how sometimes we don‘t really know ourselves until God helps us see what we are really like.
Luke 18:9 -14 NIV 9 To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: 10 “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men–robbers, evildoers, adulterers–or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’ 13 “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’ 14 “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
Revival begins with repentance, recognizing our need for God. Recognizing that we were made to be dependent not independent! Recognizing we must have Him in our everyday life, in our regular decisions and choices.
In our journey to pray over America more diligently, I want to give you two simple ideas to jump start your prayer.
1. Pray every time you see an American Flag. “God bless this nation with your presence.”
2. Pray every time you see a penny. “God help America to put their trust in you again. Open our eyes to see their need for you.”
I find great strength in this prayer from CONNECT MOBILIZE Intercessors for America
Lord, You are the Hope of our nation.
I humbly ask that You would restore
America to Your purposes. May Your
kingdom come in America as it is in heaven.
Saving America Through Prayer
In Jesus’ Name.
Trusting in God must begin with us. Praying isn’t a panic reaction, it’s a statement of our trust in God!
Taken from Teach Us To Pray.